She glared at him and slapped at his hands until he let her go. “If you hadn’t stopped me, I might have been able to take him out.”
“Did you know what direction he was shooting from so you could fire back?”
Her lips pursed.
“I didn’t think so. And you’re welcome.”
“When I get over being mad at you, I’ll thank you.”
“Don’t do me any favors.”
She frowned. “Any element of surprise we had is gone. What do we do now?”
Collier held up his phone, then shoved it in his pocket. “Already done. I just called for backup. And don’t tell me I shouldn’t have, Chief. This isn’t a simple smash-and-grab. Ifthey were here to rob the place they’d have been out by now and they wouldn’t be trying to kill us. Any idea who these guys might be and what they want? Sierra, earlier you mentioned danger to the chief. What’s that about?”
“It’s Dawson,” Beau corrected him.
“What?”
“I’m not the chief anymore.”
“Oh, good grief,” Collier griped.
“Um, guys?” Sierra held up her phone, showing them the view from the camera she’d put in the foyer. “There are two men with rifles in the front of the house. They just passed the camera and took up positions by the front windows.”
“Rifles?” Beau and Collier both asked.
“Well, they didn’t look like shotguns so I think so. Why?”
They swore.
Beau grabbed her again, this time tossing her over his shoulder in spite of her shriek of outrage. He took off running toward the road with Collier running full out beside him.
The sound of glass shattering was their only warning. Sharp cracks of rifle fire sounded and bullets began pinging off trees, sending sharp bits of wood flying at them.
“Ouch,” Collier brushed wood from his hair.
“Go, go, go,” Beau yelled. “We’re seriously outgunned.”
“I’ve got a shotgun, for crying out loud,” Sierra called out, each word punctuated with a grunt as she bounced on his shoulder.
“Far enough?” Collier yelled.
“Far enough.” Beau slid to a halt in the dirt and set Sierra down.
He was fast becoming familiar with her glare as she aimed it at him again. She jerked her shotgun off her shoulder and held it up. “Why are we running from these guys when I’ve got this? We should circle back and—”
“Get yourself killed?” Beau snatched the gun from her. “A shotgun doesn’t have the range that a rifle has. Neither do our pistols. We need a plan. What’s the ETA on backup, Collier?”
He worked his mouth, a red flush creeping up his neck. “Um, it might be a bit. After the meeting the mayor was so angry he sent everyone home. It’ll take a while to get them up here.”
“Understood,” Beau said.
Sierra glanced back and forth between them. “I don’t understand at all. Everyone left? Who’s in charge at the police station?”
“As acting chief, I treated it like end of shift,” Collier said.
“End of shift? What does that even mean?”
